Paterson's 'robbery squad': FBI investigation leads to convictions, federal prison terms

A years-long Federal Bureau of Investigation examination of a group of former Paterson police officers — a group who called themselves "the robbery squad" ultimately led to guilty pleas and convictions and, in some cases, terms in federal prison.

Why did the Passaic prosecutor decline to investigate Paterson's 'robbery squad?'

The Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office dropped 10 separate investigations targeting five Paterson cops who later admitted in federal court that they robbed and assaulted people in Paterson.

Timeline: How Passaic County prosecutor declined to investigate Paterson 'robbery squad'

The office of Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes dropped 10 separate investigations targeting five Paterson cops who later admitted in federal court that they robbed and assaulted people in Paterson. Here's a timeline.

Paterson 'robbery squad' police sergeant Michael Cheff gets 33 months in federal prison

Former police Sgt. Michael Cheff didn’t get rich off the robberies committed by the rogue cops he supervised, said United States District Judge Katharine Hayden. Nor did Cheff ever direct his underlings to shake somebody down when he needed cash, Hayden noted. But federal prosecutors asserted that the robbery squad of rogue cops would have been unable to prey upon the people of Paterson for so long and so often without Cheff looking out for them and helping conceal their crimes.

Former Paterson police, targeted by the FBI, sentenced for 'robbery squad' activities

None of the people who were robbed and beaten by a rogue crew of Paterson cops were sitting in a federal courtroom on Friday afternoon as two of the offenders got their prison terms. But the judge and federal prosecutors referred to the victims several times during the proceedings in which Frank Toledo was sentenced to two years in prison and Daniel Pent 18 months.

“The people of Paterson need to know that Mr. Toledo … is paying his debt to them for what he did to them,” said United States District Court Judge Katharine Hayden.

Paterson's 'robbery squad' cops charged in FBI investigation to be sentenced Thursday

The day of reckoning looms for five rogue city cops who brazenly called themselves “the robbery squad” as they preyed upon people in Paterson and exchanged boastful text messages about their illegal exploits. One after another, Jonathan Bustios, Eudy Ramos, Matthew Torres, Frank Toledo and Daniel Pent are scheduled to stand before a federal judge in Newark on Thursday to learn how much time they will spend in prison for robbing and beating people they illegally stopped in Paterson, crimes they tried to cover up with false police reports.

Prison sentences delayed for six officers in Paterson police corruption case

The prison sentences for six Paterson cops convicted of stealing money from people they illegally stopped have been delayed while one of the former officers tries to get his conviction overturned. The sentencing hearings for Jonathan Bustios,Michael Cheff, Daniel Pent, Eudy Ramos, Frank Toledo and Matthew Torres had been scheduled for the end of this month, but they have been postponed until September.

Seven guilty Paterson cops: Who are they?

A Paterson Police officer pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges, the seventh cop to admit to crimes that include traffic stop shakedowns, drug-dealing and hitting a man while the man was chained to a hospital bed. In federal court in Newark, Daniel Pent admitted to joining a crew of five rogue cops in a conspiracy that allegedly started in late 2016 and continued until 2018. Pent also admitted to crimes that include excessive force.

Paterson sergeant convicted in corruption case for leading 'robbery squad' of crooked cops

Punctuating one of the worst police scandals in Paterson history, a federal jury on Thursday found Sgt. Michael Cheff guilty of civil rights crimes, making him the sixth member of the self-proclaimed “robbery squad” of cops to be convicted. With his wife seated directly behind him, Cheff slowly shook his head from side to side as the jury foreman read off the verdict just after 7:30 p.m. — guilty on the first count of conspiracy to violate civil rights and guilty on the second count of falsification of records.

The verdict followed five days of testimony in which Cheff’s five co-conspirators — Jonathan Bustios, Daniel Pent, Eudy Ramos, Frank Toledo and Matthew Torres — admitted to robbing, beating and abusing people they illegally stopped and searched in Paterson.

Ringleader or victim? Closing arguments clash in Paterson sergeant's corruption trial

Paterson police Sgt. Michael Cheff, the supervisor of the city's self-proclaimed “robbery squad” of crooked cops, was either “the inside guy” who conspired with them or the “easygoing boss” who became one of their victims. A federal jury heard those conflicting portraits of Cheff during closing arguments in the police corruption trial in United States District Court in Newark.

The trial looms as the culmination of a massive FBI probe into the Paterson Police Department that already put two city cops in prison and resulted in the convictions of five others — all of whom testified against Cheff during the past eight days in hopes of getting lighter jail sentences.

‘Everything we do is illegal:' Crooked ex-Paterson cops joked about their crimes

The five crooked cops who called themselves the “robbery squad” joked among themselves about the crimes they committed against the people of Paterson, according to testimony in the trial of Sgt. Michael Cheff.

The assaults on those who tried to escape from them they called the “running tax.” The officers said they were doing “brake checks” when they made abrupt stops in their patrol cars, sending handcuffed suspects in the back seat crashing into plexiglass partitions. Their probable cause for illegal motor vehicle searches was “DWB,” or driving while Black.

Opening statements pose questions about Paterson sergeant's role in corruption case

Five rogue cops preyed upon Paterson for three years — beating people, stealing their money, telling lies, planting evidence and conspiring to cover up their crimes with false police reports. That much both sides agreed upon during Wednesday’s opening statements in the federal trial against Paterson police Sgt. Michael Cheff, who supervised the lawbreaking law enforcement officers.

But what was Cheff’s role?

Eudy Ramos is sixth Paterson cop to plead guilty in FBI probe

In addition to stealing money from illegally stopped motorists, disgraced city Police Officer Eudy Ramos admitted in federal court that he used excessive force on people he encountered on the streets of Paterson.

Ramos, the sixth city cop to plead guilty in the FBI’s probe, admitted taking $14,600 from people in five separate incidents stretching from February 2017 through February 2018. Those crimes already had come to light during previous guilty pleas by other crooked officers as well as in Ramos’ indictment. But Ramos’ admissions covered new ground in revealing the violent practices of the rogue officers.

'We gotta give him a cut': Crooked ex-Paterson cop testifies to sergeant's role in scheme

Jonathan Bustios used to drive through Paterson’s drug-infested neighborhoods in his police vehicle searching for people to rob. Luxury cars, expensive clothes, flashy jewelry – that’s what Bustios said he looked for in his victims, signs he said that someone might be carrying lots of cash, or drugs, or guns.

The former law enforcement officer – who testified in federal court in Newark  – estimated he stole an average of $500 a week through his illegal shakedowns, on top of his $40,000 salary from the Paterson Police Department. He also said he lied on about 75% of the police reports he filed to cover up his wrongdoing.

Timeline of former Paterson officer Ruben McAusland's drug crimes

The entries about Paterson Police Officer Ruben McAusland’s illegal activity come from an FBI affidavit attached to the original criminal complaint filed against him. The affidavit says that all of the drug transactions and most of the phone conversations were recorded by a confidential informant at the direction of law enforcement.

Seventh Paterson cop in FBI probe pleads guilty

A seventh police officer pleaded guilty to corruption charges, meaning every city officer arrested in the FBI probe has been convicted. Former Police Officer Daniel Pent, who worked as a state corrections officer before he joined the Paterson Police Department in 2014, admitted participating in a conspiracy in which five of the rogue officers took money from drivers and passengers during illegal traffic stops.

He faces up to three years in federal prison. Pent also admitted filing false police reports to cover up the money he took.

Why did the Passaic prosecutor decline to investigate Paterson's 'robbery squad?'

The Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office dropped 10 separate investigations targeting five Paterson cops who admitted in federal court that they robbed and assaulted people in Paterson.

From June 2016 through September 2019, Prosecutor Camelia Valdes’ Public Integrity Unit sent the Paterson Internal Affairs Division 10 letters saying there wasn’t enough evidence to pursue criminal charges against the five officers, including one dated just 30 days before the FBI began making arrests of members of the so-called "robbery squad."

Timeline: How Passaic County prosecutor declined to investigate Paterson 'robbery squad'

Take a look at how many investigations targeting five Paterson cops — all members of the infamous 'robbery squad' — who later admitted in federal court that they robbed and assaulted people in Paterson were dropped, and when.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson NJ 'robbery squad': FBI investigation leads to prison terms